Chocolate Meringue Swirls

These chocolate swirls melt in your mouth and are crunchy on the outside and marshmallow-like on the inside. Served with a silky smooth custard that mixes in swirls and enhances the chocolate flavour to balance the sweetness of the meringues. Top it up with a chocolate-coated pretzel, and it's a sweet, salty treat!

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Meringue

3 Egg whites*

¾ cup Granulated sugar

½ tbsp Lemon juice

½ tbsp Cornflour

3 tsp Vanilla extract

60g melted dark chocolate

Chocolate Custard

1 cup Full Fat Milk

¾ cup Heavy cream

3 Yolks

2 tbsp Cocoa powder

2.5 tbsp Cornflour

4 tbsp sugar

12 salted pretzels

Method

Step 1 - Meringue swirls

Separate your egg whites from the yolk and place them in a large deep bowl.

Step 2

Beat your egg whites till soft peaks. Then start adding your sugar 1 tbsp at a time.

Step 3

Once all the sugar is mixed, beat the mixture till stiff peaks. Then add vanilla extract and lemon juice, and with a spatula, mix well.

Step 4

Then add cornflour and beat till just combined.

Don't overmix. Once you attain stiff peaks, invert the bowl, and the meringue shouldn't fall.

Step 5

Add the melted, cooled chocolate to the meringue and mix with a rubber spatula until 2-3 streaks.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 110°c. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Step 7

Pipe your meringue to make 12 round shapes around 3 inches wide. Then place the tray in the oven in the lowest section.

Step 8

Bake for 1 hour and then turn off the oven and let the swirls rest in the oven for 2 hours. Then take them out and meet aside.

Step 9 - Chocolate custard

In a pan, add milk and heavy cream. Heat on low heat till just hot. Don't bring it to a boil.

Step 10

In a bowl, add yolk, cocoa powder, cornflour and sugar. Whisk well.

Step 11

Once the milk is hot, pour it into the bowl while mixing continuously. Once everything is combined, pour into the pan and place on low heat again.

Step 12

Cook till the custard starts to thicken for about 20-30 minutes. Whisk occasionally.

Step 13

Once the custard is thickened, take off the heat, let it cool down to room temperature, and then place it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.

Step 14 - Assembly

Take meringue swirls out, and add 2-3 tsp of cold custard. Add some salted pretzels and serve.

Tips

1. Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature.

2. Adding little sugar at a time helps dissolve sugar easier and build a good structure.

3. Overheating the meringue will make them dry and stiff.

4. Bake the meringue swirls on the lowest rack to prevent cracks and browning.

5. Let the swirls rest in the oven for 1 hour or more to prevent cracking.

6. Once adding hot milk and heavy cream to the egg yolk mixture, whisk constantly to prevent scrambling egg yolks.

7. To check if the custard is done, dip a spoon, and it should coat the back of the spoon.